CHELSEA FC FLOGGED BY RELEGATION THREATENED CLUB CRYSTAL PALACE

Crystal Palace 1-0 Chelsea: Terry own goal damages Blues’ title tilt

The Eagles earned a valuable three points in their battle to avoid an immediate return to the Championship, but their London rivals' own end-of-season aims were handed a big blow

John Terry's own goal put a huge dent in Chelsea's title hopes as Crystal Palace boosted their survival chances with a 1-0 win on Saturday.

Hovering precariously above the drop zone coming into the game, the victory gives Tony Pulis' side a massive lift in their bid to avoid relegation straight back to the Championship as they now sit 16th, five points clear of the bottom three.

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After Chelsea's resounding 6-0 win over Arsenal last week, and Palace's last-minute defeat at Newcastle United, many expected a routine three points for Jose Mourinho's table-toppers, but the hosts upset the form book by recording their first league win over their London neighbours since 1990.

Pulis' team came up against a Chelsea outfit that had been rampant in thumping Arsenal, but there was no sign of that ruthless attacking vigour at Selhurst Park as the home side nullified their oppone

MATCH VIEW

By Liam Twomey After the rush to acclaim Chelsea as title favourites in the wake of Saturday's stunning 6-0 demolition of Arsenal, Jose Mourinho's fall back to Earth could not have been less forgiving at Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace and Tony Pulis, steeled by fear of relegation, were never going to be such conveniently open and fragile adversaries. They frustrated Chelsea and, though it would be overstating the case to suggest they took their opportunity when it arrived, a defender of the calibre of John Terry does not head into his own net unless under significant pressure. Not a single man in a blue shirt lived up to his billing. Nemanja Matic endured his worst game since returning to Stamford Bridge, Branislav Ivanovic demonstrated once again that he is no right-back, Eden Hazard was strangely uninspired and Fernando Torres delivered the kind of inconsequential performance we have astonishingly come to expect from a man who once cost £50 million. Perhaps you cannot win this league with 10 players after all.

nts.

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